Beyond What's Within
by Esryeal
Summary: 2 days since Obito died. 9 months when Kyuubi will reenter. 1 year till 'he' will be born. The truth of the past. The start of the future. The story starts just after the Kakashi Gaiden.
1. Farewell, Friend

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Beyond What's Within

Summary: 2 days since Obito died. 9 months when Kyuubi will return. 1 year till 'he' will be born. What actually happened before Naruto was born (Story starts just after the Kakashi Gaiden).

Words in Japanese are translated on the bottom of each chapter. Paragraphs in _italics _are flashbacks or something similar.

"_When tears of despair merge together, the world will reawaken with hope. Light will blind darkness. Purity will crush the tainted."_

-Yondaime (3rd Hokage)

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_Ch.1 Farewell, Friend_

The day had just begun. Silence swept through the usually crowded streets of the peaceful country of Konoha. The sun, crackling with energy, had just started to rise to greet the fluffs of white that dotted the blue sheet covering the landscape. The citizens of Konoha were still sleeping, sheltering themselves from the morning cheers. There was one person who was awake though. He lived in an old house located not far from the heart of the village. The fire-red bricks had become faded and some erosion had occurred. The chimney on the roof was clogged with wet leaves left behind by nature's breath. Then there was the sign that attracted many people's attention. It hung beside the plain wooden doors that led into the house. It reads 'The Hatakes'. Actually, there should have been no 's' since there was only one Hatake left. His name was Kakashi Hatake.

Kakashi had been awake all through the night. He was exhausted, worn out, shattered. He had just returned to Konoha a little while ago from the s-classed mission he had been assigned to accomplish.

The mission was to eliminate all the enemy rock ninjas that were hiding in the Hidden Grass Country.

The mission where Kakashi had learned things that would change his life forever.

The mission where he had obtained a valuable treasure, but in turn, lose the only real friend he had.

Kakashi sat upright on his futon and stared out into the early morning sky.

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"_Kakashi…I didn't give…you a…present at your…jounin cele…bration. My Sharingan…take it…so I can…become…your eye and…see…the future where…us two…have become…one…to change…despair…into hope…" Obito whispered in pain._

"_Take care…of Rin…" He murmured._

_The rocks began to seal themselves together. Kakashi jumped out of the opening._

"_Rin, let's go!" Yelled Kakashi._

_Rin was crying, she couldn't leave Obito. Kakashi took Rin by the hand and jumped out again._

"_OBITOOOO! NOOOOOOOO!" Rin screamed as she and Obito distanced themselves more and more._

_The rocks had nearly closed in. Despite all the reverberating, Kakashi heard Obito's last and longing words._

"_Kakashi…even though we…finally became friends...I couldn't admit...to Rin…I wanted to be…together…with every…one…longer…farewell." Obito said._

"_Farewell, Obito." Kakashi muttered, as the last of the murderous boulders locked tightly into place._

A tear escaped Kakashi's eye, the Sharingan eye. Given to him by Obito as an everlasting gift.

"Obito", Kakashi whispered, penetrating the silent atmosphere.

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"Kakashi! Where are you?" Rin shouted. 

Rin was scared. She took a step back and plunged into the endless abyss.

"AHHHHHHHH! HELP! SOMEONE!" cried Rin.

"Rin! Rin!" The voice was Obito's.

"Obito! Whe-where are you! Help me!" cried Rin.

"Rin! Rin! Wake up!" Rin opened her eyes in an instant and was startled to see her father's face appearing over her.

"Chi chi, wha-what happened?" asked Rin.

"You were probably just having a bad dream. It's ok now. Go to sleep dear." Her father replied.

Rin hugged his father, squeezing him half to death.

"Chi chi, I-I'm scared! I don't want to l-lose anyone else! Wh-when I see them just lying there dieing, I feel so useless be-because I can't do anything to save them when they did their b-best to save me!" Rin was crying uncontrollably.

Her tears materialized from her eyes, traced down her cheekbones, and made its final destination onto the already-moist futon. It hurt her to think about Obito. Although she knew it was Kakashi she liked, Obito always stood beside her, defending her, and doing whatever he could to help her. They had been friends since the memorable days of the Academy.

A few minutes passed and her father helped her back onto her bed, ignoring the dampness of the futon. He kissed her on the forehead and left. Rin couldn't sleep though. She lay on her bed until it was early afternoon.

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Chi chi translates into father

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Please read and review! This is my first attempt at writing a story. Criticism and comments allowed as reviews. This was a short chapter. Later chapters will be longer. Will update ASAP! 


	2. As The Wind Blows

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Beyond What's Within

Pleeeeeeeeze read and review! Need to know what to change in my writing! Thanks! Enjoy chapter 2!

_"We cannot all achieve something without sacrificing something"-Kakashi Hatake_

If translations are incorrect, please feel free to correct my mistakes and I will post a correction on my profile page.

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_Ch. 2 As The Wind Blows_

Rin was famished; she hadn't eaten since yesterday morning. She got up from her deformed futon and put on her clothes. She noticed the odor that clung on her garments and decided to wash them first. She took them off again and shoved them into the empty laundry basket lazily. She then took an invigorating bath that doused a huge amount of the fatigue she had gathered. Then she took out some casual clothing and put them on. She dried her, now clean, hair, and left the house that she had lived in for almost two years now. She closed the door quietly even though she knew her father was at work constructing new buildings. She had no mother anymore. Her dad told her that her mother had been slain by a team of bandits during a mission she was carrying out when Rin was still very young. Other than that, Rin knew nothing else of her mother. The first time Rin asked her father a question about her mother, he answered in an angry manner as if he something was bothering him. After that, Rin never mentioned her mother's name in front of her father ever again. Rin tried to picture her mother's face while walking to the busiest place in the village when two other same aged, lively girls came up to her.

"Kaira-chan and Skiachi ready to spy!" shouted the brown-haired girl. Skiachi was shorter than Kaira. She had deep brown hair that twisted into a cute ponytail. Kaira was very beautiful with her long hot pink hair which reached down to her waist and curled up. The hair shone in the sunlight and the intensity of the pink was revealed. She was very sweet to everyone which made her a popular girl with the guys her age. She always had a cute smile on her face. Kaira's setback was that she was not exactly the brightest. She was very slow witted at times and usually needed an explanation from Skiachi. Skiachi would always tease her about her dimness while Kaira would always try to make a comeback. They would always fight with each other about many things but what they both agreed to right away was who was the most attractive guy their age were (just like most of the other girls their age!). The two friends had not noticed that Rin was in distress; mostly due to that fact that they, along with Rin, had reached the new ramen shop near the center of town.

The restaurant was a sturdily built wooden booth where the Japanese common delicacy was being served in many flavors. New white sheets with kanji written on them were hung down from the front of the booth to promote privacy. Next, there was the new and polished wooden sign that hung from the restaurant. It read 'Ichiraku Ramen' and a sign under it illustrated a very tempting bowl of steaming miso ramen and the words 'Grand opening, all ramen 35 off!'. It was just past lunch so the restaurant was vacant. What caught Rin's two friends' attention was the person strolling over to the ramen shop.

"Eeeeeeeeeee! It's him! Come on girls!" whispered a very excited Kaira.

The three girls had decided to start a boy rating club a few months ago. They put the boys into ranks from most unattractive to the cutest. Most of the girls at Rin's age had eagerly joined up except for a few who either, thought it was too juvenile, thought it was 'not juvenile' enough, or were just too shy to join. The majority of the girls had decided that the #1 guy in Konoha was…

"Kakashi-kun!" shouted the two eager girls as they rushed off in the target's direction.

Rin looked up at the name of Kakashi and forced a smile to form around her lips. Skiachi and Kaira were talking in a frenzied manner to Kakashi pushing each other aside to have the most attention from the speechless boy as Rin walked up to them and summoned all the energy she could unleash.

"Hello Kakashi-kun!" Rin forced an even bigger smile to form around her lips scared that she would reveal her true feelings.

Kakashi stared at her with his careless-looking eyes searching for some sign of depression. Rin knew he had noticed what her true inner feelings were but he pretended to not notice anything out of the ordinary. Kakashi stared at her for a few more seconds and ended the gaze with a nod of acknowledgement. At the same time, Kaira had noticed the burning-like red eye that Kakashi had obtained.

"Uh, Kakashi-kun? What's wrong with your eye today?" Asked a confused Kaira.

Skiachi looked up at the young man's face and quickly scanned the top section of his head.

"Isn't that the Sharingan eye? I thought only the Uchiha people get it." Said Skiachi.

Rin gazed at the Sharingan for a moment, the Sharingan she had replaced Kakashi's immobilized eye with. Tears started to form from her eyes and she began crying again. Kakashi was alarmed at her sudden reaction and held out his hand in a gesture to calm her down but decided against it. Kaira and Skiachi had already begun calming her down.

"What's wrong Rin?" Kaira enquired.

"This…is the present Obito gave to me." The voice was Kakashi's.

The two girls shifted their attention towards the direction of the voice. The girls, excluding Rin, were confused. They didn't understand till Kakashi decided to tell them the truth.

"Obito is dead." Whispered Kakashi.

Rin could not take it anymore. The pain was overpowering her. She stood up and ran away, leaving a trail of tears that soon evaporated from the hot earth.

"W-what! Rin, come back!" Shouted Kaira.

Skiachi looked back at where Kakashi had been standing and found that he had also left.

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Rin ran. 

Ran with all her energy. She ran past her house without a single glimpse of the hospitality it held. She knew where her two restless feet were leading her. They were taking her to the Lighthouse.

The Lighthouse was at the border of the big village of Konoha. It took her a while to find the exact location due to the forest that guarded the gigantic tower. She walked around in the forest for a few minutes and soon she found the bearings that lead her to the clearing. Rin stepped out to be greeted with the massive structure.

The Lighthouse was one of the first lighthouses built in Konoha. It had been abandoned a long time ago since it was never actively used as what it was intended for. The cargo-carrying transports and other ships had ended up avoiding that specific path where the Lighthouse stood because of the dangerous floating debris and sharp rocks that jutted out along the coastline. Not many people remembered that there still stood an abandoned lighthouse here.

It was only by chance that one day, Rin, Obito, and Kakashi, along with their sensei, had gone out for their little exercises and had stumbled through the clearing to find the Lighthouse towering over them. Since then, Rin had gone here to look at the spectacular view of the ocean and feel its power surging towards the strong gales that passed by freely.

Rin stared at the plainly decorated structure and noticed she had already stopped crying. The tower doors were always unlocked so she turned the golden orbs attached to the gazing doors, pushed open the squeaking rectangle-shaped object and walked with the quietness of a ninja into the looming building.

It was colder than usual today and Rin had to cover her helpless ears to stop them from freezing. She breathed in the fresh air that surrounded the interior followed by the cold sting after inhaling too much. She walked to the centre of the big structure and took out a uniquely decorated scroll. She untied the blue ribbon that held the scroll in its cylindrical shape and spread the scroll across the half frozen base. With one swift motion, Rin 'scanned' the encrypted piece of parchment with her steady hands.

"Kashou!" Rin whispered, directing the commanding words at the circle of ancient symbols in the middle of the scroll.

Rin retreated her hands into the safety of her shirt pocket. At first, only a wisp of smoke emerged from the lifeless parchment, but as a few seconds past, the wisp of smoke transformed into a raging, but tame, fire. Instantly, the tower felt warmer and Rin could now roam around freely with the brightness of the inferno covering every corner of the lighthouse.

Rin looked around and finally saw what she was searching for. Stairs. The only object present in the lighthouse. Stairs that made its way upwards to the topmost part of the gaping tower. She carefully walked up the non-railed stairs that circled the walls of the structure. It got a bit colder again but she soon got used to the feeling.

She reached the top at last. The sight was spectacular. Rin was always bewildered by the sight although she had seen it plenty times before. Three squared openings had been made where the walls used to stand to represent something similar to windows. Rin's dark brown hair blew in all directions. She closed her eyes and felt the cold, but ever so relaxing wind caress her head. She sat down and gazed into the distant sky. She felt so much better now. Rin held out her slender arms and pictured herself as a souring eagle. She smiled at the thought and sighed, envious of the freedom an eagle had. The wind carried her sigh away to the ocean. She was daydreaming when Kakashi walked up to her and whispered her name. Rin instantly broke free from her trance turned around to see the man she had always admired.

"H-How did you know I would be here?" Rin questioned.

"I figure you were coming here since you went past your house and into the forest." Answered Kakashi.

Rin averted her gaze back to the horizon as Kakashi sat down beside Rin. They stayed in an awkward silence until Kakashi decided to shatter the tranquility.

"He…was a true ninja in the end. He was the one that made me realize how wrong it would have been if we just left you with the enemy. I…I was going to just leave you. I-I thought you would make it through till later on when we'd come back and rescue you, but for some reason, I forgot…I didn't realize that you would have suffered so much pain before we came and rescued you. He…cleared that passageway of thinking for me. Cleared it so I could see the truth. I'm sorry Rin. I…was scared that doing the same thing that my father had done. I would be bound to the same fate my father wounded up with. Obito…he made me realize that although my father was shunned, he had done what he knew was to be right. Obito recognized my father to be a…true hero. I came to be envious of Obito, even though I thought I had much more than he would ever have, he…he had the power and sense to break free from his cage while I stayed inside and only listened to the rules. I'm sorry Rin." Kakashi quieted and waited for an answer.

Rin listened with her utmost attention although it saddened her to hear what Kakashi had chose to do.

"It wasn't your fault Kakashi-kun. I mean…I should have been more cautious but instead I made you and Obito-kun come and rescue me when that was not the main objective. It…I felt that it was mostly my fault he died…h-he…" Rin couldn't hold it any longer. Her tears dominated her again and she started to cry again, each tear followed right after by the next one.

"He cared about me. All I did was watch him! Watch him as he laid there! I couldn't do anything to save him. He…he had that silly grin stuck on his face the whole time. I know he didn't want me to not worry but it just hurt so much. My job was to heal but instead I was the major part of Obito's death. I…I don't want to lose anyone else! Especially…especially not you!" Rin covered her eyes and sat there.

Kakashi sat motionless as if he hadn't heard a thing Rin had said. He waited until Rin calmed down until he spoke again.

"Obito died in order to save you. We can't all achieve something without sacrificing something. He probably knew that and he was prepared to do the unthinkable. Right now, wherever he is, he would not want to see you crying because of him. He is, and will always be, in our hearts, and I know this will sound stupid but he gave you his life so you could live. He would want you to live that life to its full and even beyond that. Be happy for Obito and that is all he needs to see to know that what he did was right." Kakashi looked out into the sky after he finished.

Rin took Kakashi's words into thought and realized her biggest mistake wasn't that she had been a cause in Obito's death, but that she was making Obito suffer even after his death.

"Thank you Kakashi-kun. What I was doing was selfish and meaningless. I'm going to do my best from now on!" She looked at Kakashi, and for one second, thought she saw him smiling under the protective mask that always covered his mysterious face. She did see it once when healing his wounds on a battlefield but that was all. She directed her attention at the sky that held up the glorious afterworld.

"I'm sorry I acted this way Obito-kun. From now on, I'll try to do my best to live a joyful life. I promise!" Rin said in her mind.

"I wonder what he's doing right now." Rin said out loud.

"Probably rubbing his eyes because something got in it." Kakashi answered.

Rin smiled at the memory as the last pieces of the fire making scroll burned away and the smoke curled up and was carried away with the whispering winds into the far multi-colored horizon.

And all went dark once more.

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**Kashou** translates into _burn_ _

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Hope you liked this chapter! Stuck on next chapter. Give some ideas in the reviews will ya! Will update ASAP!


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